About

The Association of Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD) and Morgan Stanley partnered in 2012 to create a high-quality community development fellowship that matches top-level master’s degree students with a local community development organization to carry out a specific project that the group could not otherwise accomplish.

Why This Matters

The Community Development Graduate Fellowship is a unique opportunity that helps cultivate and empower the next generation of community development leaders. Fellows have graduated from the program and secured jobs at Community Development Corporations (CDCs), government agencies, leading non-profits, and other organizations within the community development movement.

What We're Doing

Each year, the Community Development Graduate Fellowship pairs nine students from urban planning, urban policy, public administration, and other related masters-level university programs with high-performing community development organizations who are ANHD members in New York City. Both Fellows and Host Organizations apply to be part of this opportunity, which runs from September to June and supports projects in the various sectors of the community development field.

Past Projects and Host Organizations Include:

  • Affordable Housing Development and Preservation with Ascendant Neighborhood Development Corporation in East Harlem
  • Homeownership and Foreclosure Prevention with Chhaya CDC in Queens
  • Industrial Business Development with Evergreen, Inc in Brooklyn
  • Community Land Trusts with organizations like Center for NYC Neighborhoods, Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, and We Stay/Nos Quedamos
  • Commercial Tenant and Small Business Support and Organizing with Cooper Square Committee in the Lower East Side and WHEDco in The Bronx
     

Program Benefits for Fellows Include:

  • High-quality training and mentorship at some of NYC's best community development organizations

  • A $20,000 stipend for the ten-month (September-June), part-time (20 hours per week) Fellowship

  • The opportunity to meet with leaders in New York City’s government, planning, and community development fields

  • Access to our Fellow & Alumni Programming and other ANHD trainings and workshops including mixers, career-building information sessions, and other opportunities to connect with this growing community of community development professionals

  • Possibility to receive academic credit, in accordance with the policies of the Fellows’ respective academic programs

 

Program Benefits for Host Organizations Include:

  • The opportunity to build and expand capacity at the organization for a clearly defined, substantive community development project

  • Support the learning and development of emerging community development professionals, fostering relationships to strengthen leadership in the community development field

  • Ongoing support for Fellows’ supervisors throughout the Fellowship to ensure completion of the project and meaningful learning experiences

2024-2025 Applications Are Now Closed

Are you a graduate student looking for hands-on experience in community development? Are you looking to build community and network with peers in your field? 

Apply to be a Fellow: All Master’s degree students in Urban Planning, Urban Policy, Public Administration, or related fields are encouraged to apply. Applicants are required to have completed at least one semester by the start of the Fellowship in September and be enrolled in their program through the end of the 2025 Spring Semester.

Is your organization looking to build capacity for a community development project? Are you committed to supporting emerging leaders in the field?

Apply to be a Host: All ANHD member organizations with a compelling community development project to be completed ​from September to June are encouraged to apply.

If you have any specific questions about the Fellowship or Host Applications, please contact Jennifer Lopez.

Recents Blogs and Media

Blog
June 26, 2020
Investing in a New Generation of Community Development Leaders
Blog
September 19, 2019
We Are Harnessing the Next Generation of Community Development Leaders